Denver, Colorado Trip by Ruth Paget
I had transferred through Denver International Airport several times before finally getting to accompany my husband Laurent on a business trip there when he had a teaching assignment at the U.S. Air Force Academy outside Denver, Colorado.
The plane ride in through the Rockies was very bumpy with only jagged mountain peaks as emergency landing sites. I was happy to be on terra firma when we arrived at the airport.
Our hotel was in a remote convention area with rows of every major hotel chain on one side of a wide road with every major bar-restaurant chain represented on the other side of the road. We unpacked and set out to eat at Bennigan’s and noted where Kentucky Fried Chicken was.
We arrived at Bennigan’s at 3 p.m. and were told the dining room was closed, but could eat in the bar area. We ordered a mushroom-cheese pizza and big Patron margaritas. Denver vegetarian pizzas come with whole pickled mushrooms. The pizza was different from Monterey (California) where we lived, but equally delicious.
We came to Denver in the midst of the political campaign between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. There were tons of political ads on the TV along with ads to legalize marijuana (Colorado-speak for cannabis).
While Laurent taught during the day, I treated the remote location as a secluded writing sabbatical. I wrote new blogs and edited and proofed books. The time passed quickly this way, and I seemed to get little done.
When the weekend rolled around, Laurent and I set out for Colorado Springs. My mother had served on the Board of Trustees for the Union Printer’s Home there for many years as an elected trustee, and I wanted to see the place.
We ran into a terrible traffic jam. We turned on the radio to see what was wrong to find out that then-candidate Donald Trump was speaking in Colorado Springs. Trump supporters and anti-Trump protesters were descending. There were out-of-state and Mexican license plates on the road, too. I did not want to crash a potential riot in a stand-your-ground state with people who wanted open-carry for guns.
Laurent exited the highway and came back on the other side. We went to the Tanger Outlet Malls and bought Ralph Lauren Polo Shirts. I was happy with those as souvenirs.
Denver is a huge railroad junction where you can find almost anything or have it delivered pretty quickly. I spent the rest of my time in Colorado writing and enjoyed the Marriott Hotel’s set-up-for technology and Internet hotel room.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
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| Ruth Paget Photo |
